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Wrasse
The wrasses are a family (biology), Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with about 500 species in 60 genera. They are typically small fish, with most less than long, although the largest, the Humphead wrasse, can measure up to . They are efficient carnivores, feeding on a wide range of small invertebrates. Many smaller wrasses follow the feeding trails of larger fish, picking up invertebrates disturbed by their passing. Distribution Wrasses are exclusively marine in distribution. They are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, usually in shallow water habitats such as coral reefs and rocky shores where they live close to the substrate. Anatomy Wrasses have protractile mouths, usually with separate jaw teeth that jut outwards. The dorsal fin has 8–21 spines and 6–21 soft rays, usually running most of the length of the back. Wrasse are typically brightly coloured and sexually dimorphic. Many species are capable of changing sex: juveniles are a mix of males and females (known as Initial Phase or IP individuals) but the largest adults becoming territory-holding (Terminal Phase or TP) males. The wrasses have become a primary study species in the biomechanics of fish-feeding due to their jaw structure. The nasal and mandibular bones are connected at their posterior ends to the rigid neurocranium, and the superior and inferior articulations of the maxilla are joined to the anterior tips of these two bones, respectively, creating a loop of 4 rigid bones connected by moving joints. This "4-bar linkage" has the interesting property of having numerous possible arrangements to achieve a given mechanical result (fast jaw protrusion or a forceful bite), thus decoupling morphological diversity from functional diversity. The actual morphology of wrasses reflects this, with many lineages displaying different jaw morphology that results in the same functional output and a similar or identical ecological niche.Wainwright et al. (2005) "Many-to-One Mapping of Form to Function: A General Principle in Organismal Design?" Intergrative & comparative biology 45:256–262. Cleaner wrasse '' being cleaned by a pair of cleaner wrasses, Labroides sp. on a reef in Hawaii|170px|thumb|left]] Some wrasses are widely known for their role as symbiotic fish, similar to the actions and those ascribed to the Egyptian plover: other fish will congregate at wrasse cleaning stations and wait for wrasses to swim into their open mouths and gill cavities to have gnathiid parasites removed. The cleaner wrasses are best known for feeding on dead tissue and scales and ectoparasites, although they are also known to 'cheat' through the removal of healthy tissue and mucus, which is costly for the client fish to produce. The bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus is one of the most common cleaners found on tropical reefs. Few cleaner wrasses have been observed being eaten by predators, possibly because the removal of parasites from the predator fish is more important for the survival of the predator than the short-term gain of eating the cleaner.Trivers, R. L. 1971 Other species of wrasse, rather than having fixed cleaning stations, specialize in making "house calls"—that is, their "clientele" are those fish that are too territorial or shy to go to a cleaning station. Significance to humans Wrasse are utilised as food in many parts of the world. In the western Atlantic, the most commonly eaten is the tautog. Wrasse are widely kept in both public and home aquaria, with some species being small enough to be considered reef safe. Image:Bird Wrasse.jpg|''Gomphosus varius'' in Kona Image:Coris_gaimard_and_Labroides_phthirophagus.JPG|Yellowtail coris wrasse, Coris gaimardi is being cleaned by Labroides phthirophagus. The picture was taken in Hawaii Image:Bluhead Wrasse.jpg|Bluehead wrasse, Belize Barrier Reef Image:Clown wrasse coris aygula.JPG|Clown wrasse, Coris aygula, Red Sea Image:Coris gaimard real.jpg|Yellowtail wrasse, Coris gaimard, Hawaii Image:Anampses cuvieri.jpg|Pearl wrasse, Anampses cuvieri, Hawaii Image:Humphead wrasse melb aquarium.jpg|Humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus, Melbourne Aquarium Image:Ladim u0.gif|Bluestreak wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus Image:Gomphosus.jpg|''Gomphosus varius'' Genera Acantholabrus Achoerodus Ammolabrus Anampses Anchichoerops Austrolabrus Bodianus Centrolabrus Cheilinus Cheilio Choerodon Cirrhilabrus Clepticus Conniella Coris Ctenolabrus Cymolutes Decodon Diproctacanthus Doratonotus Dotalabrus Epibulus Eupetrichthys Frontilabrus Gomphosus Halichoeres Hemigymnus Hologymnosus Iniistius Julichthys Labrichthys Labroides Labropsis Labrus Lachnolaimus Lappanella Larabicus Leptojulis Macropharyngodon Malapterus Minilabrus Nelabrichthys Notolabrus Novaculichthys Novaculoides Ophthalmolepis Oxycheilinus Oxyjulis Paracheilinus Parajulis Pictilabrus Polylepion Pseudocheilinops Pseudocheilinus Pseudocoris Pseudodax Pseudojuloides Pseudolabrus Pteragogus Semicossyphus Stethojulis Suezichthys Symphodus Tautoga Tautogolabrus Terelabrus Thalassoma Wetmorella Xenojulis Xiphocheilus Xyrichtys References External links * FishBase info for Labridae * How Fish Hire a Cleaning Service ca:Làbrid de:Lippfische dv:ހިކާ އާއިލާ (މަސް) es:Labridae fa:زمردماهیان fr:Girelle it:Labridae lt:Lūpažuvinės nl:Lipvissen ja:ベラ no:Leppefisker nn:Leppefisk pl:Wargaczowate pt:Labridae fi:Huulikalat sv:Läppfiskar zh:隆頭魚科 Category:Labridae